When Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared on television sets on 8 November, and declared a war on black money through demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the space for digital transactions increased overnight. Without losing any time, fintech and e-payment companies ramped up their marketing efforts. Banks, too, entered the battle for eyeballs. Rajiv Lall, managing director and chief executive officer, IDFC Bank Ltd, said e-wallets have higher mindshare and recall, compared with banks’ apps largely because the e-wallet service providers have spent more on marketing and advertisements.
For instance, at Lil Flea Market, an annual shopping event in Mumbai held on 9-11 December, most had adopted Paytm. A few credit and debit cards were also used, but none used unified payment interface (UPI). Now, if more people are using e-wallets, customer service issues and grievances can’t be far behind.
